BE READY

FOR THE

RAPTURE

I would ask your patience and attentiveness as I share this message. It’s a bit long, but, if you bear with me to the end, you will agree it’s very appropriate for the hour that we live in now. Also, I maintain that my messages are long because Christ’s return IS SHORT! I have entitled this message: "BE READY FOR THE RAPTURE!"

Luke 1:17 talks about John the Baptist making ready a people prepared for the Lord, "He shall go before Him in the Spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just -- to make ready (to make ready) a people prepared for the Lord." First notice that in this preparation time there is a making process, there is a ‘making ready’! Furthermore, just as there was a making ready in preparation for Jesus’ first coming into this world, so I believe that this is also true for Jesus’ second coming to this world. So read carefully as we begin to make ready a people prepared for the Lord’s second coming!

To make ready -- a people PREPARED! We see this truth highlighted again in Luke 1:76, again talking about John the Baptist, "You, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways," To prepare! Now in context in verse 76, what ministry would you call that? The prophetic ministry, "You, child, will be called the prophet of the highest." The prophetic ministry here sticks out like a sore thumb, especially concerning ‘prepare his ways’ -- to the preparing of God’s people. Now I know we are all familiar with Ephesians 4:11 & 12, where it states that He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service. We error by trying to accomplish this preparation process with only the evangelist, pastor & teaching ministries and leaving out the prophetic ministry. It is important that when preparing God’s people we do not leave out the prophetic ministry. "You child, will be called the prophet of the highest, for you will go before the face of the Lord TO PREPARE His ways."

Now, let's look at two verses in Malachi that pin the tail on the donkey; Malachi 3:1 says, "I will send my messenger and he shall PREPARE the way before ME." Malachi 4:5 says, "I will send you Elijah THE PROPHET before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." So what ministry is He sending? He is sending Elijah the prophet -- the Prophetic Ministry! When is He sending it? (This is very very important.) He is sending it BEFORE the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, before the rapture and before the tribulation period, see it there? Before THE COMING of the Lord! Before the rapture, church -- before the rapture!

Luke 3:4 reads, "As is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness -- PREPARE the way of the Lord, MAKE His paths straight!"

The prophets cry out ‘prepare the way church’! Prepare yourself, get yourself ready for the second coming of the Lord. Again we read Luke 1:17, "to make READY a people -- prepared for the Lord!" That’s why I have entitled this message ‘Be Ready for the Rapture.'

God tells Amos in Amos chapter 7 to go prophesy -- GO PROPHESY. Here we see we do not have to necessarily be a prophet by profession to prophesy. "Then Amos said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, neither was I a prophets’ son (and so a scholar) but I had my occupation. I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees and a gatherer of sycamore figs and the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord said to me, go Prophesy to my people, Israel" (Amos 7:14 & 15, Amplified). Isaiah 6:9 says, "And He said go and tell this people." I want us to notice here that God says ‘go and tell’; particularly the word tell -- ‘tell’ this people. Then again in Isaiah 21:6, God says, "Go for thus hath the Lord said unto me, ‘Go set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." From his high place the watchman saw something. Today as we are called watchmen, the Lord causes us to see things and then says ‘Go declare what he seeth.’ I want us to notice the word declare there!

Again we see the calling of a watchman in Ezekiel 3:1,4 and 11. Here God says to "eat this roll and go speak" (verse 1); "Go get thee to the house of Israel and speak" (verse 4); "Go get thee to them of the captivity and speak unto them and tell them" (verse 11). Verse 17 says, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore, hear the Word at my mouth and give them warning from Me." (FROM ME -- give them warning). So we have seen the following expressions following the word go: ‘go prophesy; go tell; go declare, go speak and then give them warning from Me!’

Let us take a quick look at where we would see the expression ‘warning’ in the New Testament. Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 7 says, "By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not SEEN as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house." Note the important words here -- by faith Noah was moved to warn of things that could not be yet seen by the natural eye. He saw it by the spiritual eye of faith and it encompassed the saving, (I say again), the saving of a people! He did this warning by the eye of FAITH. Another similar verse is Romans 12:6, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith" So we see again here that faith is involved when it comes to prophesying and when it comes to warning!

Hopefully, I have laid a foundation for the skeleton of this message -- that is prophecy backed up by scripture. Since the summer of 1995, right through till now, has been a time when it seems as if the Lord has really been speaking to me through prophecy. I suppose the gift of prophecy, if you will, plus some developed prophecy! On July 13, 1995, (I find there is some wisdom in dating things), the Lord spoke to my heart the following, "Tell my people to get ready, to prepare, for my coming again, to watch for my coming again in the clouds!" So we see that expression again -- tell -- tell my people. When I wrote this, I was not familiar with that expression ‘go tell’, I since have been! The following scriptures line up with the prophecy, for we all realize that prophecy must line up with scripture. The part ‘to watch for my coming in the clouds’ is in line with Acts 1: 9-11 (NKJ), "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a CLOUD received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (In other words, He will come again in a CLOUD!) Another scripture, 1 Thessolonians 4:17 & 18, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them IN THE CLOUDS to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, COMFORT one another with these words." "COMFORT one another with these words." Oh be COMFORTED saints, Jesus is coming again soon in the clouds, then WE’RE OUTTA HERE!!!

Just a little tid bit on the side here (regarding prophecy), 1 Corinthians 14:3 reads, "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort"; so be COMFORTED, and bless the Lord! Regarding these prophecies being shared a few years after He spoke them, please keep in mind God in His foreknowledge knew I wouldn’t be sharing them till now. I had to wait for His timing and precise plan; to us it seems long, to Him it is like yesterday.

On August 14, 1995, as I was parked in the Southland LRT Station, I was dwelling on the Lord and I sensed Him speak to my heart, "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh!" The coming of the Lord draweth nigh! Notice the expression here -- the coming -- the prophecy before said ‘To watch for my coming again in the clouds.’ Again at another time God said "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh! Warn the people to be ready and watching for My coming again!" Then September 14, 1995, the Lord spoke exactly the same thing, "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh my son!" I thought to myself does this line up with scripture, and as I searched I found it did. It lines up perfectly! James 5:8 reads, "Be ye also patient, establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh!" We can see that is perfectly in line with scripture. As well, on that same day, the Lord gave me six other points besides this first one which lines up with James 5:8 (a seven point prophecy over a week).

Point #2 says, "Give them warning from Me." This lines up with Ezekiel 3:17’s, "Give them warning from Me." The Lord said to give them warning from Me, be watching and ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. The Son of Man cometh! See that?? Again He uses that expression about His coming, He is coming in an hour when we do not think He is coming. Of course, this lines up perfectly with Matthew 24:44, "Therefore be ye also READY, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." Another one that lines up is Luke 12:40. "Be ye therefore READY also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Of course, lets not forget that He exhorts us (in the prophecy) to be ready and watching.

Point #3: Do not be distracted from the coming of the Lord!

Point #4: FOCUS in on the coming of the Lord! FOCUS in on the coming of the Lord!

Point #5: Be ready and watching!

Point #6, which came on Sept. 22. Notice the first two words here, "Tell them to be ready; for they that WERE READY went in with Him to the marriage and the door was shut!" This is a very important point here, and we see that it lines up perfectly with Matthew 25:10, "And while they went to buy the oil, the bridegroom came and they that were READY went in with Him to the marriage." We must be ready. The scriptures teach us that some were not ready and they were shut out! They missed the rapture because they had no oil in their lamps. I believe the oil speaks of the Holy Spirit, and the lamp speaks of the Word of God. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet. So I believe where it says they had no oil means they had no illumination or revelation, (hear it), or revelation from the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word of God. It fits with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17, where he prayed that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may KNOW HIM better! Notice the word wisdom there -- the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. In the parable of the 10 virgins, five were wise. Here verse 12 fits with Paul’s prayer for that Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may KNOW HIM! Matthew 25:12 says "I know you not." Here He is talking to the foolish virgins, the ones that had no revelation from the Word of God, no oil -- no Holy Spirit illumination, and certainly no reserve of it! They did not really know God and His Word. I submit to us that they only had a superficial relationship with God and His Word! So then we see in Matthew 25:13, "Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man COMETH!" The coming of the Lord draws nigh, will we be found ready and watching and will He say, "Yes I know you."

Last point, Point #7. It was 6:00 a.m. September 22, and I was on my job driving the bus down this big hill, in Calgary, called Coach Hill. The hill overlooks the city lights of Calgary, and as I was going down this huge hill I looked across at the city lights and they just seemed to twinkle in a slightly extraordinary way! As I mused at the twinkling, it made me think of how the scripture refers to the coming of the Lord (the rapture). 1 Corinthians 15:52 says "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump the dead shall be raised." As I watched the city lights twinkling, I sensed the Lord speak to my heart -- "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh my son." "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Then He said "Declare -- declare the Word of the Lord to the nations."

Allow me to pause here for a moment and I will come back to ‘declare the Word of the Lord to the nations’. Just a month later, I noticed those same city lights were clouded by a fog. The fog made it so that I could only see some of the lights but they were not twinkling. (Remember He is coming in the twinkling of an eye.) The Bible refers to Jesus as the Light of the world, and fog is like many things that come into our lives to cloud our vision, and hinder us from focusing on the Lord. Things like busyness and entertainment keep us so pre-occupied that we have no time to read and pray. The problem is they profit little and rob us of time with God’s Word. Believe me, most of them are only there to distract us from focusing in on the coming of our Lord! That’s a perfect analogy of what the devil desires to do to the church today. He wants to cloud our vision so that the twinkling is taken away, so that we are not watching for the rapture, so that we are not focused on the rapture, and ultimately so that we are not ready for the rapture! Oh church, BE READY FOR THE RAPTURE!

Now back to when I was driving down the hill. I noticed the lights twinkling and I sensed the Lord speak to my heart ‘the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, declare the Word of the Lord to the nations.’ Declare the Word of the Lord to the nations! Everybody needs to hear and be warned, to be ready, and so I believe that the Lord wants me to declare these words. Allow me to remind you again of Isaiah 21:6, "GO set a watchman let him declare what he seeth. If he sees something, let him declare it!" Notice it says GO and the prophecy said to declare the Word of the Lord to the nations. This fits with Matthew 28:19, "Go ye, therefore, and teach or make disciples of all nations." The burden is, we are to reach the nations -- all the nations. Go ye into all the world and preach, to go and to tell them that -- The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Be ready and watching for the coming of the Lord. For they that were READY, I say again, for they that WERE READY went in with Him to the marriage and the door was shut! The burden is that, if they are not watching and are not READY, they will be shut out.

The Lord put on my heart some time ago "Warn them that if they miss the rapture they will go thru great tribulation and hell on earth!" Matthew 24:21 says, "For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world." Notice here it says not only tribulation, but great tribulation; that tells us then this last tribulation will be far worse than the holocaust and worse than any other bad times of the past, the worst of the worst! The Living Bible paraphrases it like this, "For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history! Get that? Never before seen in all its history!! I believe that’s accurate -- persecution is coming, a great persecution and North America is not exempt! Regarding persecution and tribulation, how about this for starters, Rev 20:4 says, "And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God." There is a sad day coming, and coming soon upon us! Please do not be offended at my next question, but can you imagine people you know being beheaded? (If they were to miss the rapture, that is.) To say that this will be a great tribulation is almost an understatement, and it surely will be hell on earth!

So we see that there is coming a great tribulation. Now please read carefully as I share with you a word the Lord spoke to my heart on March 4, 1996, "The great tribulation is not far off!" I received the same word again two days later, "The great tribulation is not far off -- give them warning from me!" Then on March 7, 1996, (and please note, this is very important) "The people will be caught with no way of escape. There will be absolutely no way of escape! They will be trapped!" I hope and pray that creates a burden of love for the lost in your heart as it does mine. This statement lines up with 1 Thessolonians 5:2, "The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. For when they say ‘peace and safety’ then (then) sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape." What does the text say is coming? DESTRUCTION is coming! All you people that are looking ahead to your restful retirement on your RRSP’s and your peaceful pension plans, hear the word of the Lord -- destruction is coming and it says here, it is coming SUDDENLY. So suddenly, you will not be able to see it coming and you will not escape, you will be trapped! Luke 21:34 (NIV) reads, "That day will close in on you unexpectedly like a TRAP, for it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen!" I like the New King James version here "Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy." See that? You may be counted worthy to escape all these things. See, when it comes to escaping it has to do with being worthy, and being worthy has to do with WATCHING AND PRAYING!

Then on March 8, 1996, the Lord spoke to my heart, "There are many who know about the Bible, who will go thru the great tribulation." I repeat -- there are many who know about the Bible, who will go thru the great tribulation; that is to say there are many who have heard or know certain parts of the Bible, but their life in no way lines up with what the Word says. You have to look very hard to see Christ in them, for that’s what a Christian is, Christ like! Like Christ, you will know them by their fruit! You may even see them with a Bible (in hand) but you do not see the Bible in them (no fruit)! They may even call themselves a Christian, and go to church every Sunday, but when it comes down to truly knowing God and His Word and having a RELATIONSHIP with Him, it’s just not there. They have a form of godliness but they really do not know God, they sort of KNOW ABOUT God, and yes, they may have even heard about the rapture of the church, and even believe when the rapture takes place, they are going up! But the truth is, they are not counted worthy to escape, they are not watching and praying! For sure they really are not looking and watching for the coming of the Lord, they are not ready and for sure God would say to them "I know you not." They do not really know God, and God does not know them, just like it reads in our main text, Matthew 25:12, of the King James, "I know you not!" Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is COMING! He is coming!

Scripture exhorts us to watch and it teaches that, those who WERE READY, went in with Him. Those who were ready! Are we ready? Are we watching? Are we praying that we will be accounted worthy to escape all that is about to happen? Do we really know God, or do we just kind of know a lot about Him! Do we have that relationship with God and His Word? Do you love His Word? That’s a healthy sign of someone who is getting to know God! I exhort us to continue to get to know God and His word, to have that time with Him. I am saying this to myself as much as I am saying this to you today, we need a continuing love affair with Him, we need to be continually sharp, praying and watching for His coming. Being on the ready, for they that were ready went in with Him and the door was shut! I challenge us to check ourselves, are we ready?

Matthew 24:44 (NIV) says, "So you also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not EXPECT Him." ‘When you do not EXPECT Him!’ Doesn’t that send shivers down your spine? I am calling the Church of Jesus Christ to be on the ready, and watching for His coming again! I declare, do not be caught on the not ready! For I believe that many will be caught on the not ready with no way of escape! It’s not a false alarm, even if we had to wait on the ready for a year or more it would not be a waste of our time! Scripture teaches (Amplified) "You also must be ready, therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him!" His coming again will be so sudden and unexpected WE MUST always be on the ready. I’m going to teach more about what being ready is, in the future, watch for it! Really, there is no loss as we are ready, we are blessed in knowing God. We really should count it such a privilege to live in this great hour of the Bible. We believe scripture and prophesies, and many are about to be fulfilled even in our generation. Matthew 24:32 (NIV) says, "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree, as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out YOU KNOW that summer IS NEAR!" I believe it's near folks, it’s not far off!

Even so, when you see all these things take place such as many fake prophets deceiving many, an INCREASE IN WICKEDNESS, earthquakes (every month), pestilence, Aids, Mad Cow disease, etc., YOU KNOW THAT IT IS NEAR. Hear the Word of the Lord, church, IT IS NEAR. Hear the Word of the Lord unsaved, IT IS NEAR, right at the door. I tell you the truth THIS generation, that is, those who are in their 30’s, 40’s & 50’s, will not pass away until All these things have happened. Therefore, because the rapture is near, let’s find ourselves ready and watching for the Lord’s coming IS NEAR!

The clear teaching regarding the timing of the rapture is -- we will not know the day or hour nor do we need to know (I might add). We will know only when it is near! We will know in our hearts as we have that relationship with Him! For that relationship with God has a lot to do with being ready. We will need a strong relationship with God and His Word. The reason I say strong relationship with God and His Word is this -- I believe there will be a period just before the rapture when we will be really tested and we will be tiring out, it will be a real struggling time! I would relate it to running a three mile race; as we near the finish line we may tire, but we will make it, if we have done our training consistently (all along)! If we have been slack in our training, chances are we may not make it!

So I encourage us to maintain a strong and consistent (not legalistic) relationship with God, His Word, His House, and to be ready and watching for His coming again. Don’t be distracted from the coming of the Lord, but be ready and watching for His coming. "For they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage and the door was shut!" Lastly KNOW that it is near -- right at the door. As in these two verses, Matthew 25:10 says, "They that were ready went in and THE DOOR WAS SHUT!" The door was shut! Matthew 24:33 says, "It is near -- right at the door." Think of it, Jesus right now could be standing RIGHT AT THE DOOR ready to shut it (as the rapture would take place). ARE YOU READY? You must do this next thing, it is very important, and you will surely be blessed. Memorize these few words today and meditate upon them forever; write them on a card and put them on your fridge and on your bathroom mirror -- KNOW THAT IT IS NEAR RIGHT AT THE DOOR

One last thought, just in case someone may say ‘ah you're trying to scare people and put them in fear!’ Well, first of all, this world today could stand a little more fear of the Lord! Secondly, because Luke 13:28, says that there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as many are thrust out of the kingdom, you’d soon realize that we are doing you a very loving favor to warn you now of these things that will soon take place. Then when we are on the other side, I can hear you saying ‘you didn’t say enough’.

If you could only see ahead for what is coming, (excuse my expression here) it would scare the hell right out of you! But you can’t see it, so please trust me in what I’m saying, these few hellish words are nothing compared to what is really coming. While I’m on the subject of hell and fear, hear this, Luke 12:5 says "I will show you whom you should fear -- FEAR HIM." Notice that ‘fear’ there? FEAR HIM who, after He has killed has power to cast into hell. I say unto you, FEAR HIM. Yes, my friend, when it comes to talking about the one who has the power to cast into hell we’d be smart to fear! We’d be wise to fear Him, and not only Him, but also fear His messengers. Deuteronomy 18:21, in the Living Bible reads "How shall we know whether the prophecy is from the Lord or not? This is the way we shall know; if the thing he prophesies doesn’t happen, it is not the Lord who has given him the message he has made it up himself and (now here it is) you have nothing TO FEAR from him." The other versions read ‘be not afraid of him, if his message wasn’t from the Lord!’ BUT, IF it was from the Lord (it implies here) that we should fear him, that we should be afraid! Not because of who he is, but because of what he is saying; he is speaking on God’s behalf. Yes, we are to even fear God’s messengers. It’s not out of line to fear friend! One other little word about fear, actually it's a two word message. In Ecclesiastes 12:13, it says (get this now) "FEAR GOD", yes the Bible says to do that. Remember the other two word scripture we just read -- ‘FEAR HIM’, we see now Ecclesiastes says ‘FEAR GOD’. Are we starting to get the picture? Verse 14 of Ecclesiastes Chapter 12, explains why we should fear God, "Because God will bring every work (every work) into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil."

God knows how to cut the difference between good and evil! There’s no fooling Him! God is the Just Judge and He knows how to judge the works and hidden things of men. Judgment is coming, He judges us according to His word. If we are not living up to His Word, then we have great cause to fear! Yes, fear God, fear God’s fearful forecast! When they forecast a hurricane, who is the fool, the one who flees in fear or the one who stays behind?

The message is now finished and I want to remind us again of the two prophecies that were at the beginning -- ‘Tell my people to get ready, to PREPARE for my coming again, and to watch for my coming in the clouds’ and ‘The coming of the Lord draweth nigh! Warn the people to be ready and watching for my coming again.’

Be ready, church, that’s what’s always coming thru, BE READY, for they that WERE READY went in with Him to the marriage and the door was shut! Be ready KNOWING that it is near, right at the door!! Ready or not, you're caught! We’ll either be caught up in the clouds or caught with no way of escape!

Being ready, for the rapture, can be compared somewhat to being ready for the city bus. The people that are ready, watching and waiting for the bus will catch it, and the people that are ready, watching and waiting for the rapture will catch the rapture bus. Also in the same way the people that are not ready, watching and waiting for the bus, will miss it and the people that are not ready, watching and waiting for the rapture will miss it! The difference however, between the rapture bus and the city bus is that the city bus will stop and wait for late runners, i.e., the people that weren’t ready! There’s only one rapture bus, if you're late or not ready for it, you’ve missed the rapture for eternity! If you miss it, you’ve missed it forever, there’s not another one coming along in 10 minutes like the city bus. There will not be another rapture. Keep this in mind the rapture bus is not waiting around for people who aren’t ready, it’s coming by to catch those who are ready. ‘They that were ready went in with Him (to the bus) and the door was shut!’

Don’t be like some people who catch the city bus. Instead of being out there a little ahead of time they get to the stop just as the bus is arriving and sometimes they miss it. Cutting it close is foolish; possibly there is a different driver that day. He may come by a minute or two earlier than the regular driver not knowing that he has to kill a couple of minutes five blocks up the road. Can you believe this; the very next day, one of my passengers repeated that analogy to the very detail and all without me prompting the conversation in any way! What the passenger was saying is it is better to be out there and ready a little ahead of time, or you may miss it. The same is with the rapture; do not cut it close thinking "oh I think I can figure out when it's coming by," your figuring may be out and you will miss it! You know it's in our nature to cut it so close, please do not be foolish when it comes to the rapture! Remember Matthew 25’s, parable of the 10 virgins, five wise and five FOOLISH; well the foolish were left behind! Don’t be foolish when it comes to the rapture. BE READY, BE PREPARED ahead of time! BE READY FOR THE RAPTURE!

Be ready by making sure that you’re hearing from God and receiving revelation from His Word via the Holy Spirit in a consistent, not a legalistic, way! Be ready by getting to know God!

• The ones that He will know are the ones that will go!
• Make sure you're ready by being steady.
• Be ready for the Rapture!